494th Bombardment Group

Constituted as 494th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 Sep 1943.
Activated on 1 Dec 1943. Trained for combat with B-24's. Moved to Hawaii
in Jun 1944 for additional training. Assigned to Seventh AF and moved to
Palau late in Sep. Helped to construct a base of operations on Angaur,
then entered combat on 3 Nov 1944 with attacks against Japanese airfields
on Yap and Koror. Conducted strikes on other bypassed enemy installations
in the Pacific and against the Japanese in the Philippines. Late in 1944
hit gun emplacements, personnel areas, ant storage depots on Corregidor
and Caballo at the entrance to Manila Bay; bombed radio installations and
power plants at Japanese bases in the Philippines; and attacked enemy-held
airfields, including Clark Field on Luzon. Early in 1945 struck airfields
on Mindanao and ammunition and supply dumps in the Davao Gulf and Illana
Bay areas. Moved to Okinawa in Jun 1945. Engaged primarily in attacks
against enemy airfields on Kyushu until V-J Day. Also participated in
incendiary raids, dropped propaganda leaflets over urban areas of Kyushu
and struck airfields in China, in southern Korea, and around the Inland
Sea of Japan. Transported personnel and supplies from Manila to Tokyo
after the war Returned to the US in Dec 1945. Inactivated on 4 Jan
1946.